Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
MAY 22, 2013
FreeWillAstrology.com
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My book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
EVIL IS BORING
To read the entire text of this piece, go here:
bit.ly/EvilisBoring
To hear a shorter audio version, go here:
bit.ly/A9cl4D
When an old tree in the rain forest dies and topples over, it
takes a long time to decompose. As it does, it becomes host to
new saplings that use the decaying log for nourishment.
Picture yourself sitting in the forest gazing upon this scene.
How do you describe it? Would you dwell on the putrefaction of
the fallen tree while ignoring the fresh life sprouting out of
it? If you did, you'd be imitating the perspective of many modern
storytellers, especially the journalists and novelists and filmmakers
and producers of TV dramas. They devoutly believe that tales of
affliction and mayhem and corruption and tragedy are inherently
more interesting than tales of triumph and liberation and pleasure
and ingenuity.
Using the juggernaut of the media and entertainment industries,
they relentlessly propagate this covert dogma. It's not sufficiently
profound or well thought out to be called nihilism. Pop nihilism
is a more accurate term. The mass audience is the victim of this
inane ugliness, brainwashed by a multibillion-dollar propaganda
machine that in comparison makes Himmler's vaunted soul-stealing
apparatus look like a child's backyard puppet show. This is the
engine of the phenomena I call the global genocide of the imagination.
At the Beauty and Truth Lab, we believe that stories about the
rot are not inherently more captivating than stories about the
splendor. On the contrary, given how predictable and ubiquitous
they are, stories about the rot are actually quite dull. Obsessing
on evil is boring. Rousing fear is a hackneyed shtick. Wallowing
in despair is a bad habit. Indulging in cynicism is akin to committing
a copycat crime . . .
To read the rest of "EVIL IS BORING," go here: bit.ly/EvilisBoring
To hear the audio version:
bit.ly/A9cl4D
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Steal This Image from PRONOIA: bit.ly/A5Lhuv
"I am totally opposed to all duality"
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Are you in quest of an Intimate Ally? A Soul Friend? A Wild Confidante?
Check out Match.com via Free Will Astrology's link: bit.ly/SoulMatch
Look for a Co-Pilot, Co-Conspirator, or Collaborator . . . an
Agent to represent you or a Disciple to worship you . . . a Secret
Sharer who'll listen better than anyone or an Amazing Accomplice
with whom you can practice the Art of Liberation.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
USEFUL REVELATIONS FROM DREAMS
Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of India's greatest mathematical geniuses.
He lacked formal training and his work was thought peculiar by
his fellow mathematicians, but he made dramatic breakthroughs
that are highly regarded. He attributed his success to the Hindu
goddess Namakkal. She appeared regularly in his dreams, where
she revealed innovative formulas he had only to verify when he
awoke.
tinyurl.com/c39bcd7
HEROES TAKING OUT THE GARBAGE
In the past 15 years, Chad Pregracke has helped pull more than
67,000 tires from the Mississippi River and other waterways across
the United States. About 70,000 volunteers have joined his crusade,
helping him collect more than 7 million pounds of debris through
his nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters.
tinyurl.com/bu8y7mx
THE PRONOIA OF EMPATHY
We can help create social change by stepping outside of ourselves.
The Power of Outrospection.
tinyurl.com/css2kap
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They are not advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning May 23
Copyright 2013 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Giant Sequoias are the biggest trees on the planet. Many are
more than 300 feet tall and 30 feet wide. Their longevity is legendary,
too. They can live for 2,000 years. And yet their seeds are tiny.
If you had a bag of 91,000 seeds, it would weigh one pound. I
suspect there's currently a resemblance between you and the Giant
Sequoia, Gemini. You're close to acquiring a small kernel that
has the potential to grow into a strong and enduring creation.
Do you know what I'm talking about? Identify it. Start nurturing
it.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Don't take yourself too seriously. The more willing you are to
make fun of your problems, the greater the likelihood is that
you will actually solve them. If you're blithe and breezy and
buoyant, you will be less of a magnet for suffering. To this end,
say the following affirmations out loud. 1. "I'm willing
to make the mistakes if someone else is willing to learn from
them." 2. "I'm sorry, but I'm not apologizing any more."
3. "Suffering makes you deep. Travel makes you broad. I'd
rather travel." 4. "My commitment is to truth, not consistency."
5. "The hell with enlightenment, I want to have a tantrum."
6. "I stopped fighting my inner demons. We're on the same
side now."
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Would you buy a stuffed bunny or a baby blanket that was handcrafted
by a prisoner on death row? Would you go to a cafe and eat a sandwich
that was made by an employee who was screaming angrily at another
employee while he made your food? Would you wear a shirt that
was sewn by a ten-year-old Bangladeshi girl who works 12 hours
every day with a machine that could cut off her fingers if she
makes one wrong move? Questions like these will be good for you
to ask yourself, Leo. It's important for you to evaluate the origins
of all the things you welcome into your life -- and to make sure
they are in alignment with your highest values and supportive
of your well-being.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Having good posture tends to make you look alert and vigorous.
More than that, it lowers stress levels in your tissues and facilitates
the circulation of your bodily fluids. You can breathe better,
too. In the coming weeks, I urge you to give yourself this blessing:
the gift of good posture. I encourage you to bestow a host of
other favors, too. Specialize in treating yourself with extra
sweetness and compassion. Explore different ways to get excited,
awaken your sense of wonder, and be in love with your life. If
anyone calls you a self-involved narcissist, tell them you're
just doing what your astrologer prescribed.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
The German word Fernweh can be translated as "wanderlust."
Its literal meaning is "farsickness," or "an ache
for the distance." Another German word, Wandertrieb,
may be rendered as "migratory instinct" or "passion
to travel." I suspect urges like these may be welling up
in you right now. You could use a break from your familiar pleasures
and the comforts you've been taking for granted. Moreover, you
would attract an unexpected healing into your life by rambling
off into the unknown.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
We call it "longing," says poet Robert Haas, "because
desire is full of endless distances." In other words, you
and the object of your yearning may be worlds apart even though
you are right next to each other. For that matter, there may be
a vast expanse between you and a person you consider an intimate
ally; your secret life and his or her secret life might be mysteries
to each other. That's the bad news, Scorpio. The good news is
that you're in a phase when you have extraordinary power to shrink
the distances. Get closer! Call on your ingenuity and courage
to do so.
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WANT MORE ASTROLOGICAL INSPIRATION?
What new influences are heading your way?
How do you want to create your life story in the coming weeks?
How can you exert your free will to seek out the adventures that'll
bring out the best in you, even as you find graceful ways to cooperate
with the tides of destiny?
If you'd like help in figuring it all out, consider trying my
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations
on the current state of your destiny and where you're headed.
What fresh resources will you be able to draw on?
How can you conspire with life to create the best possible future
for yourself?
Go here to register and log in: RealAstrology.com
You can also listen over the phone by calling
1-877-873-4888
The cost is $6 if you access them on the Web -- with discounts
for multiple purchases -- or $1.99 per minute over the phone.
"I always feel like I know myself better after listening
to your audio 'scopes."
- June R., Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and
pep me up when I'm down."
- Arthur T., Cleveland, OH
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Are you ready to go deeper, Sagittarius? In fact, would you
be willing to go deeper and deeper and deeper? I foresee the possibility
that you might benefit from diving in over your head. I suspect
that the fear you feel as you dare to descend will be an acceptable
trade-off for the educational thrills you will experience once
you're way down below. The darkness you encounter will be fertile,
not evil. It will energize you, not deplete you. And if you're
worried that such a foray might feel claustrophobic, hear my prediction:
In the long run it will enhance your freedom.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In the course of his 91 years on the planet, artist Pablo Picasso
lived in many different houses, some of them rentals. When inspired
by the sudden eruption of creative urges, he had no inhibitions
about drawing and doodling on the white walls of those temporary
dwellings. On one occasion, his landlord got upset. He ordered
Picasso to pay him a penalty fee so that he could have the sketches
painted over. Given the fact that Picasso ultimately became the
best-selling artist of all time, that landlord may have wished
he'd left the squiggles intact. In every way you can imagine,
Capricorn, don't be like that landlord in the coming week.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
"I was often in love with something or someone," wrote
Polish poet Czes±aw Mi±osz. "I would fall in
love with a monkey made of rags. With a plywood squirrel. With
a botanical atlas. With an oriole. With a ferret. With the forest
one sees to the right when riding in a cart. With human beings
whose names still move me." Your task, Aquarius, is to experiment
with his approach to love. Make it a fun game: See how often you
can feel adoration for unexpected characters and creatures. Be
infatuated with curious objects . . . with snarky Internet memes
. . . with fleeting phenomena like storms and swirling flocks
of birds and candy spilled on the floor. Your mission is to supercharge
your lust for life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Scientists in Brazil discovered a huge new body of water 13,000
feet beneath the Amazon River. It's completely underground. Named
the Hamza River, it moves quite slowly, and is technically more
of an aquifer than a river. It's almost as long as the Amazon,
and much wider. In accordance with the astrological omens, Pisces,
I'm making the Hamza River your symbol of the week. Use it to
inspire you as you uncover hidden resources. Meditate on the possibility
that you have within you a secret reservoir of vitality that lies
beneath your well-known sources. See if you can tap into deep
feelings that are so deep you've been barely conscious of them.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"I'm still learning," said Michelangelo when he was
87 years old. For now, he's your patron saint. With his unflagging
curiosity as your inspiration, maybe your hunger for new teachings
will bloom. You will register the fact that you don't already
know everything there is to know . . . you have not yet acquired
all the skills you were born to master . . . you're still in the
early stages of exploring whole swaths of experience that will
be important to you as you become the person you want to be. Even
if you're not enrolled in a formal school, it's time to take your
education to the next level.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman admitted that physicists
can't really define "energy," let alone understand it.
"We have no knowledge of what energy is," he said. "We
do not have a picture that energy comes in little blobs of a definite
amount." While it's unlikely that in the coming weeks you
Tauruses will advance the scientific understanding of energy,
you will almost certainly boost your natural grasp of what energy
feels like both inside and outside of your body. You will develop
a more intuitive knack for how it ebbs and flows. You will discover
useful tips about how to make it work for you rather than against
you. You're already a pretty smart animal, but soon you'll get
even smarter.
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HOMEWORK:
Write your ultimate personal ad. Address it to your current partner
if you're already paired. Share it at Freewillastrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2013 Rob Brezsny
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